Document

"I thought, by and large, the entire body of projects that were submitted were all good," said Chicago architect Mary Brush, one of the four out-of-town members on the awards panel. "Some were wonderful solutions but just didn't rise to the top."

"We all thought that was an elegant solution, both in the interior and exterior," she said.

Brush, who specializes in historic preservation at her single-practitioner firm founded last year, also liked architect Ione Steigler's restoration of the 1857 Warner Carrillo Ranch house and barn.

"We absolutely loved that because so many people would have knocked it down and let it collapse," Brush said.

Another jury member, Yen Ha at Front Studio Architects in New York and Pittsburgh, said Luce Et Studio's "Machine in a Box," Nissan Design America's automotive design studio in the University City area, was "so simple and beautiful."

"They make use of materials that brought so much elegance that you'd think would be quite ordinary," she said.

The other jurors were Marvin Malecha, an architect, architectural professor and dean of North Carolina State University's College of Design; and Dan Rockhill, architectural professor at the University of Kansas and executive director of Studio 804, an architectural design studio.

The long-running program, which was suspended for one year in 2011 because of the down economy, drew from 64 nominations submitted by architects, who paid between $190 and $330 in entry fees. Categories included projects completed in the last three years and unbuilt projects.

Unlike the more well known Orchids & Onions contest, held by the San Diego Architectural Foundation to single out good and bad design, the AIA program is all about excellence.

There were 16 project awards and two to individuals, retired UC San Diego campus architect Boone Hellmann and Kristi Byers, named young architect of the year. More than 200 attended the awards event at the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation.

Here are the top honor award winners and several others with jurors' and AIA committee comments in quotations. Other recipients received merit and citation awards.

Post Office Lofts - Residential honor award

2692 C St., Golden Hill

Architect: Mathew Segal at Jonathan Segal FAIA

"An outstanding example of adaptive reuse, sustainable design and creative massing resulted in a building that optimized the potential benefits of the site for housing, accommodated required parking spaces with an innovative deck and organized it all through gracious composition."

Machine in a Box - Commercial honor award

9800 Campus Point Drive, University City

Architect: Jennifer Luce, Ann Worth, Adam Grove at Luce Et Studio

“A strikingly beautiful building that levered internal processes to inform the facade, subtle glazing and careful organization of the mass has created an elegant, jewel box that is also highly cost-effective – overall an unusual and compelling commercial building.”

U.S. Courthouse - Institutional honor award

333 W. Broadway, downtown San Diego

Architect: Michael Palladino at Richard Meir & Partners Architects

“Majestic and regal among many lesser buildings, an elegant and sculptural edifice that embodies the highest standards of composition, materials and detail on a constrained site while adhering to stringent public safety/security requirements. An admirable achievement by a design team at the height of its powers.”

Warner Carrillo Ranch house and barn - Historic preservation award

Architect: Ione R. Steigler

“Restoring a long-neglected, historically important structure using contributed funds and large amounts of volunteer/donated labor is fraught with uncertainty and the temptation to cut corners. Pushing through these obstacles, the team that presented this project for consideration managed to achieve outstanding results in a remote location on a time-line that prevented the potential loss of the building altogether. Aside from the ranch house, with its authentic interiors and fully restored façade, the adjacent barn – still a work in progress – benefited from a complex and fascinating effort to stabilize it and set the stage for future work. This project is gift to all those who value California’s rich but vulnerable legacy of historic buildings.”

Autism Treatment Clinic - Urban solutions award

Rio Tijuana, 3rd Etapa del Rio, Tijuana

Architect: Arthur Echánove at Modulo 7

“A project that addresses a real and growing public health crisis with an appropriately scaled solution that embraces Tijuana’s lively, if somewhat chaotic, urban fabric, this building embraces a calming and restorative ethos that contributes to its immediate surroundings and enhances the cityscape.”

M. Boone Hellman - Patron of the year award

"Boone (retired UC San Diego campus architect) is a consummate professional, bright, thoughtful, trustworthy and measured... Many, many architects in town have worked with Boone on a campus project over the years and you will not find one that doesn't believe he is completely deserving of this special recognition."

Kristi Byers - Young architect of the year award

"Ms. Byers (principal at her own firm) began her involvement with AIA San Diego in 2005 as a committee participant, and then joined the board in 2006 as a young architects commissioner. In this role she spearheaded several successful programs, including Praxis, which introduced students to local firms; ARE Seminars, which hosted prominent professors David Thaddeus and Norman Dorf; mentorship programs; and Barstool Roundtables. ... As AIA San Diego board presdient, Kristi introduced the "good deeds" program, which encouraged community outreach and collaboration with other organizations."